Waking (The Walking Dead)

11| Bully

11| Bully

Claire stumbles out of the bedroom, her heart aching and tears threatening to spill from her eyes. She hates Lila. She doesn't care anymore. Lila has ruined her life as she knows it by forcing her to keep a terrible secret, and then proceeding to threaten Claire. Not to mention she had sex with Xavier.

Sitting in the living room, watching Quinn and Daniel play, she pinches her bottom lip as she falls deep into thought, thinking about what she should do. Should she tell Bentley? Should she tell Xavier?No. She can't look at neither of them right now, one out of guilt and the other out of hurt.

"Man, I miss TV." Claire suddenly looked up at Bentley who sat down next to her, having appeared out of nowhere.

He stares at the blank plasma TV across from them, and Claire copies.

"Yeah, I miss True Blood." She joins.

"Never seen that one. I was more of a Breaking Bad person." He sighs.

Claire felt herself frown, not because of what he just said but because she felt sorry for him. He was so excited to be a father, and he would be a great one. But now Claire wonders if he will ever find out the truth. No matter what the baby looks like, he won't be able to tell it was someone else's. Both Lila and Xavier had blondish hair, so if the baby turned out looking like them then Bentley can easily think it just had Lila's genetics.

"Hey, are you okay?" Bentley asks and Claire didn't realize that she was tearing up.

"Yes. Yes." She quickly nods and looks down at her feet underneath her body.

"Okay, but you know you can talk to me anytime, right?"

Claire weakly smiles.

"Thanks, Bentley."

"No problem."

It was silent between the pair. Claire kept her gaze on the carpet in front of her, thinking about how she will be around Xavier from now on.

"Lila, you're out." Bentley sounds so happy when he sees his true love emerge from the bottom of the stairs. Claire turns her head to look a Lila, who looks startled at the sight of Bentley and Claire together.

"Yeah, here I am." She says slowly, keeping her eyes Claire. Claire shakes her head discretely, assuring Lila that she didn't say anything.

"Come here." Bentley uncrosses his leg and places his feet flat on the floorboards. When Lila climbs onto his lap, he groans and throws his head back.

"I'm just kidding." Bentley laughs after Lila acts hurt.

"I'm going outside." Claire announces and leaves just as quickly as Lila arrived.

She shoves through the back door, taking multiple deep breaths in through her mouth. She paces around the enclosed backyard, feeling safe from any walkers as they can't get over from the fence. The air was cold and refreshing against her heated skin.

The sound of the back door swinging open violently startles Claire, and before she can react she is shoved to the ground. Claire gasps as her body makes contact with the soil, but it doesn't hurt, just shocks her.

"You told him, didn't you?" Lila says through gritted teeth, hovering over Claire like a bully.

"N-No I didn't! What makes you think that?" Claire panics.

"You know exactly why! I walk in and there you two are sitting together alone, both looking depressed. And then he puts on a fake smile when he sees me. I warned you not to tell him-" before she can attack Claire again, Claire speaks up.

"I didn't, but I should have! You're such an evil bitch, threatening to kill your baby if I do the right thing. Well you know what? I'm telling him, and I'm telling everyone what you plan on doing-" Claire screams when she feels herself being pulled up by her hair. As soon as she's standing on her feet, Lila swings her fist into Claire's eye.

She can't scream from all the extreme pain that she feels in her right eye, blindness washing over her. Claire collapses to the ground again as soon as Lila lets go of her.

She thinks that Lila is done, but she is wrong. Lila kicks Claire's eye again, this time the impact sending her flying flat onto the ground. And one last time, Lila stomps onto her face, this time the both of them hearing the crunch of Claire's eye socket.

Claire hyperventilates as she feels liquid drool out of her eye, but it's not tears. She tries to open her eyes but all she feels is immense pain and her eye feels like it's on fire. She watches Lila through blurred vision walk back into the house, closing the door and she hears a click, indicating that it has been locked.

Claire sits up, hand pressed against her punctured eye and she screams in pain. Her screams turn into sobs, the tears only causing more pain. She tries to stop crying but she can't, and it's like torture as she feels like her eye is about to explode.

"Oh my God, Claire!" Claire screams over a female voice, slamming her feet into the ground repeatedly as she tries to fight through the pain, however it's so strong that she believes she is about to die.

"Someone help me!" Claire didn't even notice Layla holding Claire's shoulders, screaming for someone to help move Claire inside.

"What the fuck- Claire!" She recognises Xavier's voice emerge from inside the house. Claire tries to open her eyes again but she can't anymore.

"Take her inside, now!" Layla demands. Claire feels herself being lifted up bridal-style and carried into the warm house, before being placed on the couch.

"Claire, honey, listen to me. You need to let me see it so I can help fix you up." Layla talks to Claire like she's a child, her hand on Claire's wrist, trying to pry her hand away from her eye.

Claire finally lets her wrist drop and reveals the bloody wound in and around her eye.

"Who did this to you?" Xavier says from the other side of her.

If Claire could even speak right now, she still wouldn't tell them the truth.

"It was your dad, wasn't it?" Xavier sounds infuriated, and Claire quickly shakes her head.

"Xavier, go get me my kit from the kitchen. Now!"

The entire time, Lila stood near the stairs, watching and smiling as she knew she was getting away with it.